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LOFAR, the Low Frequency Array

Observing the Universe at Low Frequencies: From EoR to Space Weather. Investigating the early universe is an extremely challenging area of study but is essential for better understanding how galaxies are formed, as well as why matter exists and behaves in the ways that it does. Using low frequency radio astronomy with LOFAR, scientists are able to gather data about large portions of the sky, and thus investigate the after effects of phenomena that happened billions of years ago. LOFAR is the Low Frequency Array, the world’s largest radio telescope at low frequencies – and will remain so even after the construction of the Square Kilometre Array. LOFAR uses an array of simple omni-directional antennae spread out across Europe. The electronic signals from this wide surface area are digitised, transported to a central digital processor, and combined in software to emulate a conventional antenna. LOFAR’s observations will prove to be a rich source of knowledge about the universe for many years to come. LOFAR is led by ASTRON, the Netherlands Institute for Radio Astronomy, but as a telescope network operated across Europe, it’s accessible to collaborators worldwide, with a wide range of researchers working on projects from the Epoch of Reionization to Cosmic Magnetism. Research successes include the observation of the first Giant Radio Galaxy in 2013, the fastest and slowest spinning pulsars (2017 and 2018), as well as, much closer to home. the observation of lightning flashes (2018). In order to improve the accuracy and resolution of low frequency observations, LOFAR is constantly evolving. LOFAR 2.0 will facilitate a better understanding of phenomena associated with events like the EoR. With the vast amount of data that comes from all-sky observation, LOFAR 2.0 will also involve a digital upgrade. Such an upgrade will allow LOFAR to e.g. better monitor space weather. With humanity’s increasing dependence on electronic systems, space weather poses a major threat. A coronal mass ejection from the sun, like the Carrington Event of 1859, would incapacitate us. Through the facilities and the research done through LOFAR, researchers will better understand the universe, and better predict phenomena in our own solar system.